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Re: My baby is a beggar and a snatcher!

I haven't tried anything other then cereal. I had read that giving fruit as a first could cause babies to reject veggies later on as the fruit is sweeter. What do you do wait until the bananas are brown and mash them up and offer them like you would cereal? I probably shouldn't have started him but for some reason I had this overwhelming guilt. I knew I had enough milk to get by but not enough to keep him gaining on track or so I think.....but gave into cereal. I may try bananas then as I have some of those too just have to wait for them to ripen.

At what point then is a good time to start them? He doesn't really ask for more nursing during the day as he is happy with playing. I usually just feed him every 2-3 hours depending on what we are doing. He is a small eater as he only takes 3-4 oz if he gets xbm if I am not home and at his size should be drinking more. Someone really needs to write a step by step book on this subject.

Re: My baby is a beggar and a snatcher!

Originally Posted by swirlingthrough

If you hold your baby on your lap she can watch and perhaps touch a few of the things on the table.

heehee...that is how this started. She was on my lap at a restaurant and I look down and she had a fist full of rice in her hand. I managed to get that out and she grabbed my fork. The next time, a glass of water, then the lemon from the water. LOL. She's determined.

Re: My baby is a beggar and a snatcher!

[QUOTE=soldierwife] I probably shouldn't have started him but for some reason I had this overwhelming guilt. I knew I had enough milk to get by but not enough to keep him gaining on track or so I think.....but gave into cereal.

To Soldierwife: I found your thoughts very interesting. You say you gave into cereal because of your overwhelming guilt. If you felt guilty then and gave him cereal, what is wrong with that? You felt he needed more. There is nothing wrong with giving a baby cereal, and I don't think its necessarily healthy for you as a mom (or any of us) to be so stressed out about what we are feeding our children. You are still breastfeeding your child, you are doing the things that you think are best for your family. So what if someone says bananas should be first. I think that as long as you make informed decisions about what you are feeding your baby, that it should not be a guilt inducing situation. I understand that it is stressful, I am going through similar issues with my son. I just think its good to sometimes step back and remember that your baby will most often let you know what he is okay with. Yours may be okay with cereal and thats just fine. Just remember that he will still be your healthy happy baby regardless if his first food (besides breast milk) is bananas or cereal. Good luck to you. Remember that guilt only distracts you from your role as a mom and it is just not worth it.

Re: My baby is a beggar and a snatcher!

Yes, I don't think it is so important what comes first, especially as they are just tastes. Try all in small amounts. I suggested bananas as they are so easy to mush up, but sweet potato, broccoli, avocado are good first foods too. I think the only thing I was concerned to do was not to give them so much that they'd cut back on nursing as they still need the immunities they get from breast milk for the first year at least.

Re: My baby is a beggar and a snatcher!

Ella decided that she wanted food at that age - she was a thief too!! I held her back as long as I could - until I witnessed her on her daddy's lap at 5 months old - take his spoon from him - dip it in his blueberry yogurt and put it in her mouth!

I was horrified!! I thought for sure she would have HORRIBLE allergies or a terrible reaction....

Nothing happened! She didn't turn into a blueberry or anything!

Now, at 11 months - she eats EVERYTHING - yesterday she chowed down on Mama's salsa! I wouldn't reccomend that for everyone, but for our family we just let her lead the way!

Re: My baby is a beggar and a snatcher!

Originally Posted by soldierwife

I had read that giving fruit as a first could cause babies to reject veggies later on as the fruit is sweeter. What do you do wait until the bananas are brown and mash them up and offer them like you would cereal? I probably shouldn't have started him but for some reason I had this overwhelming guilt.

One of the reasons we (La Leche League) suggest bananas is that it is easy to digest. We frequently come across babies who have *trouble* with cereals. They are highly processed and have many additives like iron that can be binding and hard to digest. Babies can become very fussy, others handle cereals well.

It's also REALLY easy to prepare, wait till the banana has good brown spots, peel, mash with fork, and feed to baby. With cereal you need some liquid, and you have to get the right consistency, unlike the banana it just automatically goes to the right consistency.

Breast milk is also sweet, so for some babies the transition to naturally sweet foods is easier. Eventually offering a larger variety of foods will help your child develop a taste for a larger variety of foods. Sometimes, children reject things several times, decide they like it, and a week later will reject them again. It helps to have positive experiences trying new things.
I have an almost 4 year old that will eat fresh cut up peppers over cookies or sweets, something I am not particularly fond of. I would definately take the junk food!

Starting solids is a very complicated process, there are baby food companies that give us and the people who love us pressure. In turn it gives you pressure from those well intentioned grandparents, and even strangers. And every book you read has a different opinion. It's very hard to decide what's right, but no matter what you hear or read you know your baby best! If you are not experiencing trouble with solids, don't feel guilty. There was something that told you it was time. If there is another child in the future you may make a different decision!

Originally Posted by soldierwife

At what point then is a good time to start them? He doesn't really ask for more nursing during the day as he is happy with playing. I usually just feed him every 2-3 hours depending on what we are doing. He is a small eater as he only takes 3-4 oz if he gets xbm if I am not home and at his size should be drinking more. Someone really needs to write a step by step book on this subject.

Start whenever it works for your family. Some mothers decide to start at regular meal times, and for others that adds to much to their meal times. In general, we do suggest offering the breast first, so the baby is not starving and getting frustrated when they are trying something new. Breastfed babies tend to be small eaters, because breast milk digests so easily and quickly, they eat more frequently in smaller quantities. Again it's why La Leche League thinks of solid foods in the first year to be a trial, warming up to the texture, the tastes, while continuing to get most of their nutrition from your breast milk. Especially in the beginning think teaspoon sized portions not baby food jar bottles.

You are doing a great job, you have a very lucky son to have a mom that cares so much!
LLL Traci

Re: My baby is a beggar and a snatcher!

Interesting. Bananas caused terrible constipation issues for my son, so I'll probably not be introducing those first. I think I'll try avocados. Of course, to further complicate I'm allergic to both! Not life-threatening of course, or I wouldn't do it at all.

Re: My baby is a beggar and a snatcher!

Originally Posted by WinterMomma2Two

Interesting. Bananas caused terrible constipation issues for my son, so I'll probably not be introducing those first. I think I'll try avocados. Of course, to further complicate I'm allergic to both! Not life-threatening of course, or I wouldn't do it at all.

Well that certainly changes the recommendations, a baby whose parents have allergies, makes starting solids much different! You may want to avoid the foods you are sensitive too. And it may explain your sons constipation after eating bananas, a doctor will be able to tell you specifics about the allergies. Perhaps a Yam or winter squash instead, you pierce the skin, microwave for 4-8 minutes, depending on your microwave and the size of the veggie, mash/let cool, or cool and mash and feed. Yes it is a little more time consuming, but can be done while you are doing other things in the kitchen.
Banana's can be constipating, but generally not as much as the iron additions to cereals.

Re: My baby is a beggar and a snatcher!

OP, it sounds like you have a lot of good advice here!! Trust your instincts and your baby will be just fine.

I agree with some others though on the cereal. I have read that infant cereals can constipate because of the iron that's added. We started with sweet potatoes, which I blended with breastmilk. My DD loved it! I would do three or four potatoes, whip them up in a food processor, and freeze them in ice cube trays. Once they were frozen they could be dumped into a bag or tupperware and kept for single servings. I think we did pears and peaches next, then some sort of chicken/ sweet potato blend. I also did oatmeal later on, but instead of using the infant marketed brands I took some quaker oats and ground them up in the food processor, then added breastmilk and sometimes pureed apples or pears.

I know a lot of people who used jarred baby foods, but after reading some of LLL's books I just felt better using my own ingredients and knowing exactly what was in my daughter's first foods. It was EASY too... my inlaws were convinced I'd give up the homemade baby food idea after a try or two, but how hard is it to cook a fruit or vegetable and then blend it up? Anyway, not for everyone but I really enjoyed it

I should add that my DD is almost 2 and she loves fruits and veggies of all kinds. She rejects greasy food and things with lots of sugar, and has a great appetite in general. So I wouldn't be worried about introducing fruits early on. Breastmilk is sweet so it's a logical transition, but breastfed babies also get the flavors of mom's diet so they are naturally more adventurous eaters! My DD sat with us the other night and ate shrimp scampi with great gusto